Laura McKaughan, Principal, Envirolutions LLC (term ends 2019)Laura McKaughan has worked in the resource management industry for over 10 years before starting her own environmental consulting company in 2014. Prior to this, she served as Sustainability and Conservation Manager for Stanford Student Housing and worked for the San Francisco Conservation Corps (SFCC) for 8 years. At the SFCC, she was originally hired as the Recycling Projects Manager and was promoted to Associate Director of Green Programs in 2011. She has an MBA in Environmental Entrepreneurship from Dominican University and a BA in Psychology from the University of Arizona. Laura joined the NCRA board in 2010 and was elected president in 2012.

John Moore, Attorney, Henn, Etzel and Moore (term ends 2020)John Moore is an accomplished trial lawyer, including a multi-million dollar jury verdict, who has been in practice since 1980. He has taught trial skills to lawyers, writing and research to law students, recycling law and negotiating skills to graduate students, and practical law to high school students. He has been NCRA legal counsel since the 1990s and represents several recycling businesses.

Jessica Robinson, M.A.S.C., Resilience:Birthright, Climate Leader (term ends 2019)Jessica Jane Robinson has a BA degree in Performing Arts and Social Justice, minor in dance from the University of San Francisco. Jessica participated as Miss Alameda for the 2010 and 2011 Miss California USA pageant; with the platform of reducing landfill and greenhouse gas emissions and promoting clean technology and energy. As Miss Alameda, Jessica has sought to encourage behavior changes among the public by promoting Alameda’s recycling and composting program in local schools and businesses. She is one of the founders of the MASC program (Miss Alameda Says Compost), recruiting restaurants in Alameda to recycle and compost. She has helped the City of Alameda reach 75% diversion goal in 2012, by the success of her programs and outreach. Currently, she is developing a transmedia project called “Resilience: Birthright,” with the goal to inspire cultural and social change with the help of entertainment and multi-media.

Doug Brooms, Engineer, and Conservationist (term ends 2019)Doug Brooms is a retired Mechanical Engineer and an Oakland native. Doug has sustaining commitments to recycling promotion and waste reduction and supports various environmental justice causes, including climate change, marine plastics pollution, habitat preservation, and renewable energy transitioning. He’s the Recycling Coordinator at his apartment complex and likes doing recycling and landfill diversion work at public events. Doug has videotaped a number of NCRA-related events.

Alexandra (Hoffmann) Bradley, Public & Govt. Relations, Recycle for Change (term ends 2020)After graduating with a BA in Economics and a BA in Political Science, Alexandra began her career in real estate finance. However, in 2008 she had the opportunity to take a position with Waste Management as a Recycling Coordinator, and after that, her world was never the same. She has broad experience with Zero Waste related topics including e-waste recycling, textiles, commercial, multi-family, and food waste pilots. She also excels at grant and proposal writing, recently authoring a winning grant proposal to promote textile recycling, funded by the San Francisco Department of Environment. She is constantly brainstorming ideas on how we can integrate varying industry and public goals to create communities, more opportunities, and a better environment for future generations. When she is not working towards Zero Waste, Alexandra can be found selling homes in Marin County or digging in the dirt volunteering with the Marin Master Gardeners.

David Krueger, Recycling Manager, City of San Ramon (term ends 2020)Mr. Krueger administers all aspects of the City of San Ramon’s recycling programs. He has over 25 years of professional experience in the recycling industry, and has worked for the City of San Jose, Waste Management’s Davis St. Transfer Station, and as a consultant with R.W. Beck and Associates and HF&H. He has served on the Alameda County Source Reduction and Recycling Board and the California Resource Recovery Association’s Board of Directors. Mr. Krueger’s areas of expertise include construction/demolition debris recycling, Materials Recovery Facility operations, and organics composting. He, alongside Alexandra Hoffman, joined the NCRA Board in May 2015.

Tim Dewey-Mattia, Recycling & Public Education Manager, Napa Recycling & Waste Services(term ends 2020)Tim Dewey-Mattia is the Recycling & Public Education Manager for Napa Recycling & Waste Services, the local franchise hauler, as well as the operator of Napa’s Recycling & Composting Facility. He got his start in Zero Waste almost 20 years ago – with the Middlebury College recycling program and then for non-profit recycling organizations in San Francisco. He has been at Napa Recycling for 10 years and works on all aspects of program development, implementation, and outreach… plus he talks chickens at Recycling Update.

Hilary Near, Recycling Specialist, City of Oakland (term ends 2019)has worked toward Zero Waste for over a decade in various municipal and private organizations including StopWaste, San Francisco Department of the Environment and Cascadia Consulting Group. Her overarching commitment has been to behavior change through effective communication and leadership, whether it be discussing the nuisances of the refuse rate structure to a local business leader or engaging fourth graders in an impromptu science lesson with a worm bin. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley in Geography and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from San Francisco State University. She has also served on the U.S. Composting Council’s Compostable Products Task Force as a facilitator since 2011. Hilary joined the NCRA board in 2017.

Susan Blachman, Consultant, Blachman Consulting, (term ends 2020)Ms. Blachman is a consultant in environmental sustainability, economic development, equity and social justice with over 30 years experience. A passionate zero food waste advocate, Blachman is doing her best to get organics out of landfill; she regularly incorporates leftovers into her family’s meals, enjoys the challenge of shopping her fridge before heading out to the market and is chairing NCRA’s Zero Food Waste Committee. Ms. Blachman served as Associate Director for the Environmental Finance Center, Region IX at Dominican University of California for many years. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Nik Balachandran, CEO, Zabble Inc.Nik’s foray into the waste industry was triggered by the excessive amounts of waste in the environment and the lack of data to engage with the masses. An advocate of the circular economy, he founded Zabble Inc. in 2016 to leverage the latest in technology to simplify waste quantification, track and monitor waste continuously and conduct baseline analysis for improving process efficiency towards zero waste. He currently works with restaurants, facilities and schools to establish zero waste processes to reduce waste, increase diversion, reduce contamination and save costs which ultimately protects Earth’s vital natural resources. Nik has been deeply involved in local beach cleanups in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2007. In 2011, he received an award from Texas Instruments for his volunteering efforts with the Green Team to reduce cafeteria food waste and promote campus-wide e-cycling. Nik Balachandran has a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from New Mexico State University. He is also a TRUE™ Zero Waste Advisor. His passion for hiking and open water swimming is a constant reminder to keep trash out of the environment.

Alina Bekkerman, National Sustainability Manager, SBM Site Services. Alina began shifting her focus from a career in marketing data towards sustainability and zero waste in 2014 while traveling in Ecuador. Connecting with the local community abroad, she collaborated on a recycling education initiative called Proyecto Puerto López Limpio, engaging the youth and municipality in a 3-week long project and Earth Day fair. Locally, Alina is part of Zero Waste Youth USA planning committee, helping the next generation move towards a zero waste future. As the National Sustainability Manager at SBM – a custodial services company, Alina works on recycling and sustainable program development, waste diversion reporting, and materials management consulting for SBM clients across the San Francisco bay area and the west coast.

Previous board members listed below staff.

Staff:

Portia M. Sinnott, MS+, NCRA, GRRN/ZWUSA, Zero Waste Brain Trust, Zero Waste Sonoma County
Portia Sinnott is a Zero Waste consultant that co-leads national and international expert teams working with the USEPA, UN-Habitat and a variety of jurisdictions and businesses. Recent projects include the EPA Zero Waste Community Assessment Framework and other components of the EPA’s upcoming Zero Waste microsite. She serves as Program Director for Zero Waste USA/GrassRoots Recycling Network, Editor and Registrar of the Northern California Recycling Association and Co-Founder and Executive Director of LITE Initiatives – a sustainable practices group that operates Zero Waste Sonoma County and Community Bikes. On behalf of all these groups, Portia is the convener of the Zero Waste Brain Trust, which collects data on Zero Waste initiatives and organizes small group brainstorms, large stakeholder meetings, and projects focused on the transition to a world without waste. The NCRA president for 6 years in the 1980’s, Portia rejoined the board in 2010, served as a VP for 5 years and stepped down in May 2015.

Jessica Connolly Nusse, Solid Waste Specialist, Castro Valley Sanitary DistrictJessica Nusse has been working in the Zero Waste industry since 2009. Jessica is currently working for Castro Valley Sanitary District (CVSan) and previously on source reduction, recycling, and composting programs in multi-family dwellings (MFDs) with Marin Sanitary Service. She interned at Recology San Francisco on the Environmental Learning Center tour program from 2009-2010. She worked with Recology San Mateo County as a Diversion Auditor from 2010-2012, where she helped large businesses, and MFDs increase diversion through source reduction, recycling, and composting. Jessica also taught an environmental literacy internship program to formerly-homeless people at a non-profit in San Francisco from 2012-2014. She has a degree in Geography: Human Environmental Studies from San Francisco State University, where she graduated with high honors. Jessica joined the NCRA Board in 2012, serving om both the Membership Committee and the Zero Waste Advocacy Committee. She also serves as the Co-Chair of the Zero Waste Youth Convergence.

Jennifer Cutter, Recycling Programs Coordinator, City of Union CityJennifer Cutter works with businesses, municipal facilities, multi-family complexes, and community groups to establish diversion programs in the Bay Area. She specializes in recycling and organics implementation, but also develop public outreach for HHW, e-waste, and other environmental programs. Ms. Cutter’s recycling program experience is unique because of both public and private-sector perspectives through her former positions as recycling coordinator with Republic Services of Alameda County and with the City of Hayward Recycling Division.

Arthur Boone, Center for Recycling Research & Total Recycling Associates
Arthur Boone was a member of the NCRA board for most years since becoming a professional recycling in 1983. Now semi-retired, he founded NCRA’s well-praised RECYCLING UPDATE and INTRODUCTION TO RECYCLING classes. He most recently chaired NCRA’s Zero Waste Advocacy Committee, which advises NCRA on policy and legislative matters. He lives in Berkeley and holds degrees from Princeton and Brown Universities and the Union Theological Seminary in NYC.

Tomer Shapira, Customer Service Field Manager, Specialty Solid Waste & Recycling
A lifelong advocate for environmental and social justice for people and the planet, Tomer Shapira has been working professionally in the recycling and Zero Waste industry since 2006. After graduating from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a double major in Environmental and Community Studies, Tomer went on to designing and implementing Zero Waste management systems for events and festivals in California and nationally across the U.S., before settling in San Francisco and joining the local Conservation Corps in 2010. Managing the Corps’ city-wide Zero Waste projects program represented a chance to continue in Zero Waste education and implementation, but closer to home. Working alongside at-risk and underprivileged young adults for five years provided an invaluable perspective into the importance of connecting the concept of environmental stewardship to diverse local communities. This passion has carried over in his work with Specialty Solid Waste & Recycling, where he began as the company’s Customer Service Field Manager in December of 2014. A proud NCRA member since 2010, Tomer served on the Board of Directors since 2013.

Steven Chiv, Zero Waste Commercial Specialist, City and County of SFSteven Chiv is a Zero Waste and sustainability advocate with a focus on material resource conservation working with the San Francisco’s Department of the Environment towards their goal of Zero Waste by 2020. He has experience navigating state and local environmental policy, implementing commercial and residential Zero Waste policy, and organizing community grassroots outreach. Steven believes that all meaningful conservation and care for our beautiful planet begins with individual responsibility. He is focused on stimulating behavior change to drive greater environmental action and care for Mother Earth and her finite resources. Steven shares NCRA’s Zero Waste vision with the new generation of recyclers and proudly served as NCRA Membership Committee Co-chair.

Rebecca Jewell wrapped up at Davis Street Transfer Station in April 2016, having worked as the
Recycling Programs Manager since 2006. At DSTS, she was primarily responsible for explaining operations & programs to partners in the industry, the curious members of the public as well as City and regulatory staffs. Rebecca has her bachelor’s degree from Kalamazoo College, a small liberal arts college in Southwest Michigan. Her professional experience began in working with at-risk youth and domestic violence survivors in residential settings. Rebecca initially came to the recycling scene working at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County. There, she helped shape the recycling programs and formed 2 creative reuse programs.

Steven Sherman specializes in the composting and anaerobic digestion of organic materials. Steven has 25 years of consulting experience in program planning, policy development, project implementation and management, contractor management, training, and program evaluation. His consulting, research, operations, policy, education and training efforts for several award-winning clients have helped to lay the groundwork for comprehensive organics management as a cornerstone of zero waste and advanced recycling efforts. His current and past board service includes: Alameda County Recycling Board, Vice President; Upstream, Treasurer; Berkeley Zero Waste Commission, member; California Organics Recycling Council, co-founder/policy co-director; San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners, Treasurer/VP; Cooperative Center Federal Credit Union, VP. Steven holds an M.S. in Resource Economics from Cornell University, a Certificate in Advanced Indonesian language, a Certificate in Financial Planning, and a B.A. in Environmental History from Yale University. Favorite slogan: “More fun, less stuff.”